Field EXPERIENCE
Northern leopard frog surveys and black-tailed prairie dog mark-recapture study
In 2009, I worked as a Conservation Fellowship Research Specialist for the Calgary Zoo Centre for Conservation Research. I assisted with field projects for two species: the northern leopard frog in Alberta, and the black-tailed prairie dog in Saskatchewan. Field work for the northern leopard frog project consisted of conducting frog surveys at different wetlands to determine factors that influence the detectability of these frogs. For the black-tailed prairie dogs, field work involved setting up a live-trapping grid on known prairie dog colonies at Grasslands National Park to assess population sizes through mark-recapture, and determine whether current populations can support the reintroduction of a predator, the black-footed ferret. I also participated in the first release of black-footed ferrets into Grasslands National Park, and volunteered to help conduct ferret surveys several months afterwards. Habitat use of hatchling Blanding's turtles For my Master's thesis research, I designed a field study to determine the movements and habitat use of hatchling Blanding's turtles following their emergence from the nest. To do this, we used small VHF radio-transmitters to track hatchlings from the nest. As this method has not been used on hatchlings before, I was responsible for developing and testing the methods used to attach the transmitter and replace it every two or three weeks. I also developed a habitat sampling method to assess habitat selection in hatchling turtles, and trained volunteers on the transmitter attachment and the habitat sampling methods. In addition, I helped manage and conduct fieldwork for this project, including coordinating volunteer schedules, preparing the necessary equipment, and developing and managing a database of all the information collected. Wetland characterization project In 2006, I assisted in managing and conducting field work for a wetland characterization project around southwest Nova Scotia, including Kejimkujik National Park and the surrounding area. The aim was to characterize as many wetlands as possible within the known range of the Blanding's turtle in Nova Scotia to determine what variables influence their presence and habitat use. This involved identifying wetland vegetation, taking water samples, and recording other physical characteristics of wetlands. In addition, I also assisted with turtle and snake surveys, turtle nest monitoring, and radio-tracking of adult Blanding's turtles. Along with learning about wetland habitats, working on this project helped me gain experience with planning and managing a field project, maintaining a database, interacting with landowners, and preparing summary reports for the Recovery Team. Sunflower-ant-mycorrhizae mutualisms From 2004-2005, I worked as a research assistant for a field project on herbivory and sunflower-ant mutualism, and the influence of mycorrhizal associations on this relationship. During the summer field season, we set up a field based control-treatment experiment at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta. We used a fungicide treatment to discourage the development of mycorrhizae in potted sunflower plants, and placed both treated and untreated plants near ant nests to determine how the presence of mycorrhizae influenced the visitation rates of ants. We then monitored the plants on a regular basis to count the number of ants and other insects visiting the plants, identify the insect to Order level, and record physical condition of the plants. Thermoregulation in big brown bats I worked as a field assistant in 2003 for a graduate research project on big brown bats. As part of the study, we collected several bats from a large, established colony in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and exposed them to different ambient temperatures to assess their thermoregulation capabilities. We also mist-netted for bats to collect DNA and milk samples from lactating females. In addition to assisting with this project, I also recorded the vocalizations of infant big brown bats at different temperatures as part of my Honours thesis. Monkey-village interactions An undergraduate field course in primatology in 2002 took me to the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana, where I spent two weeks conducting behavioural studies of Geoffroy's black and white colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus) and Campbell's monkeys (Cercopithecus campbelli) at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary. My research involved determining differences in the behaviours of the two primate species while at the border between the forest and the adjacent village. The field course allowed me to gain experience in different behavioural observation methods and in conducting line transect surveys for primates. It also served as an introduction to West African ecosystems, and the wonderful Ghanaian culture. Neighbour-stranger song discrimination in Alder Flycatchers My first experience with fieldwork was in Kananaskis Country in 2001, when I worked as an undergraduate field assistant for a research project on songbird behaviour. During the field season, we recorded the pre-dawn chorus of male Alder Flycatchers. The recordings were later used to perform playback experiments to map territories and to test neighbour-stranger song discrimination of territorial males. We also did some mist-netting, banding, and nest searching during the field season. Through this project, I also gained experience with the quantitative analysis of bird song, and the use of sound analysis software. |